I like it! What was your lighting set up? Internal flash or external? Colour and clarity are really good!

My suggestions, fwiw, would be

1: Would have been nice to have the shot more from the front quarter than the rear. Although I know how hard that is to do with skittish fish.

2. If you were using an external strobe, I think moving the strobe to the other side of might have better lit the face. One thing I have learned from some seminars I have taken is it is always the eyes that make a shot pop when you shoot living creatures.

3: Finally, you might consider cropping this image, to eliminate the background.

I would like to thank you for taking the time to not only critique my work, but rework the photograph. I do feel your version of the photograph looks much better.

I usually post my photographs in their original composition because I feel that it's too easy to modify a bad photograph to look half-decent with Photoshop. Working with the original reminds me whether I need to improve my composition or not.

Here is your version of my photograph. I worked from my original but have tried to duplicate your cropped version of my photograph as best as I could.

Now, to answer your questions.

1. I whole-heartedly agree that front quarter shots are better photographs. As you stated, acquiring this shot was not easy. I actually observed this little fella darting back and forth across 10-15 ft of the reef for about 10 minutes before I realized that he would make little pit-stops on this star coral. I composed for the photograph on that spot and just waited for him to return. The shutter lag of the camera is probably the most difficult thing to work with on these digital cameras, but after 5 shots this was the best of the bunch.

2. I agree, the eyes definitely have it. Interesting enough, I was using dual YS90-DX's for this shot (notice the two shadows). Based on the left shadow, I'd have to say my problem could have been strobe placement. For that reason, I feel, the face was not lit as well as I would have wanted it to be.

3. I've done just that. The photograph does look a lot better. Thanks!

Again, thank you for taking the time to critique my photograph. Feel free at any time to rework any of my photographs and post them at your convenience. I too feel the only way a person can improve his/her work is through the critique of others. Thanks a million!

Thanks for the kind words about my work, Bob. I will (to some extent) modify some of my images to produce a better image.

Nice job on that Stingray and diver. The image looks really much better without the diver in the background and having it cropped in close. Rubber-stamping the image must have taken you some time. Great job! Next year, send me a Christmas postcard too!

I basically agree with your ideas.
Even the beautiful pictures of the so called pros that are published in dive magazines have been enhanced, cropped, ...

In my opinion it depends on how you are 'selling' your pictures.

If the idea is to show the perfect work of the photographer, to compare cameras and equipment or to show the results of different camera settings, the original picture should be posted.

When you are trying to document what you saw under water (either to remember it later on or to share with others), it is better to optimize your pictures before presenting them to others.
For pictures taken with limited equipment (like mine) it is sometimes the only way to get something presentable.
I started playing around with Photoshop when i got interested in macro photography, which simply wasn't possible with a MX 10 (my old camera). So i scanned my slides with the highest possible resolution and cropped them. I got some very nice results that wouldn't have been possible otherwise.

first of all, I have to agree with the others "it is a very nice motive". Congratulations! I already thought so, when having a quick glance at this post a few days ago.

After lots of useful advice that has been posted here, I'd like to give you another (personal opinion) recommendation: Do not use two strobes when doing the macro. It will always result in very disturbing shadows (the only thing at your pictures, which give me the impression that the photographer is still practicing). You are close enough to the object, so if you just position one strobe the right way, it should give you full coverage for the composition.

I usually detach my strobe (I have a quick-release on the arm, which is very useful) before I take a macro, so that I'll find myself with the strobe in one hand above the object and the camera right in front of it. Reserve two strobes for the wide angle shots.